


Born into royalty

by Carandacar



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Age Difference, Angst, F/M, Friends to Lovers, No Smut, Sort of? - Freeform, differences between social norms, keeping secrets, nothing pedophilic tho
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-13
Updated: 2018-06-02
Packaged: 2019-05-06 04:58:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14634600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Carandacar/pseuds/Carandacar
Summary: The prince is friends with somebody he doesn't know that much about. This is okay, because he himself is keeping some things from you. But will this still not be a problem when you two grow closer?





	1. Nightmares

Shadows and lights danced before your eyes. You were floating within your own mind, peacefully and quietly. Soon you were right next besides your dear parents, just the three of you. Your heart filled with warmth. This was so rare… Your parents were always so busy. Your father gently petted your head and your mother gave you a loving smile. You knew they treasured you, as much as you loved them in return.

All of a sudden they were gone and in place were the shadows above you. It got bigger and took shape as panic began to fill you at the sight of it. You jolted awake when bright red eyed opened to stare down at you with pure aggression.

“____?” Now you realized that it was Sidon’s figure that towered over you, but instead of malice, his eyes was filled with worry. His still wet figure was dropping water on you, causing you to wake up further with slightly hot cheeks. “You are quite a heavy sleeper, aren’t you?”

You slowly sat up, embarrassed to have fallen asleep in such a place. “Oh, I’m sorry, your highness.” You warily scanned your surroundings. The rock you were sitting on was gently shone upon by the sun, making it warm and comfortable to lie on. You had no doubt fallen asleep because of this while waiting for the Prince to arrive.

“No need to apologize my friend,” Sidon said as he stepped back into the river to give you space. You replied with an absent-minded nod. He kept himself submerged up until his eyes, with his headtail laid out flat on the water behind him. It was as comical as it was adorable, but it failed to make you smile at the moment. “____.” He hesitantly called out your name.

“Hmm?” Your eyes snapped back to his. You scooted closer to the river to properly look him in the eyes.

“You seem distracted, is something the matter?”

“What? Oh, nothing! It was just the dream I was having, but it doesn’t bother me much, I swear.” You lied. You knew he could tell, but he stayed silent.

“Alright then,” He dropped the subject as to keep the mood a friendly one. Instead he gave you a toothy smile, baring his fangs in the friendliest way possible. “So, is today the day I can show you the artistry that is Zora’s Domain?”

You sighed; he kept suggesting this every time you met up. “No, I’m afraid not. I told you before; if I don’t return before it’s dark my parents will throw a fit.”

Sidon smiled gently. “They must care a lot about you…” The image of your parents beside you in your dream flashed into your head, giving you chills despite the pleasant weather.

Sidon noticed you shiver and frowned. “How about we go for a walk?” he suggested in attempts to cheer you up. Once again you gave a weak nod and you started walking along the river in opposite direction of Zora’s Domain. Sidon followed with a pout, which amused you.

“Oh, I know what your plan was, you sneaky prince,” You teased as you looked down on his swimming figure. “You thought that if we walked in the right direction, you could still persuade me with words like “Oh, well it isn’t far now” or “we might as well head to the Domain by now!”” You giggled at him guilty-as-charged face.

“It was worth a try,” He admitted with a shrug.

Your teasing attitude changed to a more honest one. “Oh, prince Sidon, you know I’d love to visit, but it’s just too far. I’d never be home on time. I seriously believe you when you say it’s pretty.”

Sidon nodded. “As you should. One day I’ll take you, even if I have to kidnap you.” His joke made you smile, which relieved him. Nobody wanted to see their friend sad.

“I don’t think that will be good for your reputation, your royal highness,” you finished your sentence with a theatrical bow, which was much even for you. He playfully splashed you with water, causing you to laugh. He felt accomplished in the way he seemed to be cheering you up.

You always properly addressed him as “Prince Sidon” or “Your highness”, despite being good friends already. He didn’t necessarily mind and he knew that it said nothing about how close you actually were as friends, but he still often wondered if he should request you to stop. 

As of now, you and Sidon were what you would call best friends, but not really in a traditional sense. You only hung out every so often at the place where you two met. Sidon really wanted you to see the Domain, because he knew you would love it. He would love to go to your home as well, but you refused to tell him where you lived, but he understood why. Even now most Hylians weren’t too fond of the Zora and vice versa. It wouldn’t be a good idea for him to randomly show up in a town, seeing as he was almost 3 times the average Hylian.

But both of you often shared your troubles and it soothed him. The two of you understood each other, which was the core of your friendship. Even if you didn’t want to tell him about your home, there were enough reasons for him to assume that you were close. He could respect your privacy and, if he was honest, there were a few things that he himself would prefer to keep to himself.

You saw him deep in thought and you knew that he would worry about you for the rest of the walk if you didn’t tell him what was wrong. You didn’t really want to go into it however. You felt cared for with his attempts, but right now you just wanted to have a nice walk and to not have to think about anything that might potentially make the both of you feel sad. Going over ominous dreams would have that effect.

“Hey, I know you’re worried about me,” You said to him. “But it really isn’t anything too bad.”

Sidon stopped swimming so abruptly that it surprised you. You looked into his eyes. They were warm and caring. “Are you sure?”

You nodded. “Yes, thank you. I was having a good day, but the nightmare threw me off a bit. You’re already cheering me up however.”

Sidon smiled and climbed out of the water. “I’m glad.” He placed his hands on your shoulders in a friendly gesture. “I won’t force you to talk about it, but please know that you can always talk to me about anything.” What he was not expecting was that you followed this up by putting your arms around him.

“Thank you, Prince sidon.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a lot of nightmares and this night I had a really bad one. Originally I didn't intend it to end with a hug, because I didn't want to portray the characters as that close yet, but I needed some comforting


	2. Dreams in letters

Your quill pen scratched over the paper in uncertain strokes.

_“Dear Prince Sidon,”_

A solid beginning, you must say. _Just make it efficient_ you told yourself, but in truth you had no idea what to write. You decided to just wing it.

_“I hope you are well. I myself am doing great. Hopefully this letter will come as a pleasant surprise. Lately-”_

“What are you writing?” Your quill came to a screeching halt, almost ruining your paper.

“Mother!” You whined as you covered up your letter. “You scared me,”

Your mother huffed and took a step back. “Well, I did knock. You just didn’t hear me.”

“O-oh sorry…”

She nodded and sat down on the chair next to you. “You better be sorry,” You saw her trying to sneak a peak at your letter so you quickly pulled it away from her.

“Mother!”

She gave you a stern look, but then she dropped it and smiled. “Alright then, but I hope you can at least tell me what it is you’re writing.” She gave you a pet on the head.

“A letter,” you knew she would demand to see it if you stayed silent and lying wasn’t an option either, seeing as she could tell from a mile away whether you were lying or not.

The idea of sending letters to Zora’s domain was one that you had thought about for a while, but you just never knew what to write. The both of you only had free time ever so often, so you thought it’d be a nice way of contact outside of meeting up in person. Plus your mom would notice if you snuck out too often. 

“A letter? To who?”

“…”

“It isn’t a boy, is it?” She raised a brow in suspicion. You in turn almost choked on your own spit.

“*cough* N-no! *cough cough*”

“Oh really?” She crossed her arms. “Because you know what we think about boys-”

“Well it’s not a boy!” You borderline yelled. “It’s just a friend!” Your mom seemed taken aback by your tone. But you were right, you wouldn’t describe Sidon as a boy. He was a man. And on that note, you didn’t see him as more than a friend anyway. “S-sorry, but I swear it isn’t like that! Don’t I deserve some privacy and trust when it comes to friends and things? As an adult I know what my responsibilities are.”

“I know that…” Your mom softened. “I-it’s just that I didn’t expect you to make friends like that and not tell us.” She paused, unsure of her next words. ”I know you might be lonely and… It wouldn’t surprise me if you, you know, ran off with somebody….” She seemed a bit ashamed.

“Mother…” You resolutely grabbed hold of her hand. “Mother, I can reassure you that I have too much respect for you and father to do something like that. Like I said, I know what my responsibilities are and staying with you is one of them.”

Your mother mimicked your soft smile. “Right.” She stood up. “And we’re so proud of you.” She said giving you a kiss on the top of your head. “That reminds me, we can actually have dinner with the three of us tonight!”

You smiled in response. “I would like that very much,”

She nodded and stroked your hair one more time. “I have to go now, but I’ll see you later then, okay?”

“Right. Thank you mother.”

 

“Aren’t you a little old to still live with your parents?” He asked one day when the both of you were skipping stones over the lake nearby your meeting spot.

“Tssk, rude!” You jabbed him in the side as you tossed your stone. It skipped 2 times.

Sidon laughed and rubbed his gills. “Pathetic!” He commented on your throw. He managed to make his stone skip his 7 times. Impressive. “You’re an adult, right? Why haven’t you established your own life yet? If I were you, I would’ve gone out on all sorts of adventures!”

You sighed and gave up tossing seeing as you could never beat him in this. “Well, then why don’t you?”

“I have all sorts of responsibilities.” He referred to being a prince. Sidon had so much responsibilities resting on his shoulders, he couldn’t just abandon his people like that. But were he born a commoner instead, he knew what he would do. He was content with his life as it was, but sometimes he felt as if his own race just wasn’t adventurous enough.

“Well, there you have it. I am the same, I have the responsibility to stay with my parents and, you know, t-take care of them I guess”

Sidon didn’t really know what to say to that. “Can’t they take care of themselves?”

You shrugged. “I guess not,” Sidon was confused. Were Hylians really that fragile? To be fair, the only Hylians he really had any experience with seemed to be the exception.

“But, don’t you want something else?” Sidon persisted.

You paused. What _did_ you want? “I’ve never really thought about it like that.” You admitted. “B-but it doesn’t really matter anyway. I know what I have to do.”

Sidon stared at your resolute expression. He underestimated you. He thought that you might have been too scared to go out, but that obviously wasn’t true. He could see himself in your determination and that was something he could appreciate in a person.

“I feel the same.” 

Hylia knows that you two grew closer that day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chappy 2!! This one is shortish, but I actually like it that way, because I feel like my stories can drag a bit. I still think I established some things, so good job me, I guess?
> 
> Please tell me what you think! It would mean a lot to me!!


	3. the birds and the bees

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a little bit more adult, but it was super fun to write! I don't think this fic will include actual smut, but it's still interesting to explore these old cliches haha. I hope you enjoy!

You heard a rustling close by, real close. Shocked out of your daze, you grabbed the dagger your father gave you and turned towards the noise in anticipation. You shuffled forward; eyes squinted at the bush. All of a sudden a boar came charging out of it and although it didn’t go in your direction, the fright of it made you slip off of your rock. With a splash, you fell right into the mud.

A frustrated sigh left your lips after you spat out some dirt. Mud. It got stuck in your hair and most of your dress was now brown instead of the light blue it once had been. You stood up and felt the stained dress hit your legs coating it in the same goop. You tried to shake it off, but it persistently stuck to the fabric. If you didn’t clean it off now, it would definitely stain. Especially since it would dry up quickly in today's heat.

You desperately wanted to take off your dress and clean it in the river, but…

You squinted at the sun’s position. “It’s not too late… He should still be a ways off.” You muttered.

You didn’t want to be caught wading naked in the river, especially by Prince Sidon, but on the other side… If you returned home with your dress dirty, your mom would flip. Her rage was something that you would prefer to avoid and so you found yourself wiggling out of your dress right in the open. You put your underwear on the rock so it wouldn’t get wet.

Fortunately, this part of the river was well concealed and travelers rarely ever followed it, which is why this was your meeting spot. You preferred it private. Yet you may never know when somebody might be looking for a natural toilet in these woods.

The water felt refreshing on this warm day, you almost forget you were there to scrub the mud off your dress. You quickly got all the mud off and you hoped that the rest of it could get cleaned back home. If not, your mom would come for you.

You wrung out your dress and laid it out on the rock. It shouldn’t take long for it to be dry enough to wear again. It wouldn’t be completely dry, but you didn’t mind wearing damp clothing.

You were just cleaning your hair when you felt something swimming up behind you. Thinking it might be a lizalfoz, you tried to get back to land, but a pair of hands stopped you. You gasped.

“Relax, it’s just me!” Sidon warm voice came from behind you. You looked up in shock at his brightly smiling face. You could feel how close he was. Your back was pressed against his chest and it sent a tingling feeling all around your chest. You panicked and kicked him in his stomach to get free. You hadn’t kicked him that hard, but Sidon let go of you anyway. You tried to cover yourself up as best as possible.

“What are you doing?!” You screeched in disbelief. You had considered the possibility of him showing up early, but, if anything, you hadn’t expected him to grab you like that.

“What do you mean?” Sidon looked genuinely confused. “Oh, I’m sorry, were you bathing? I thought you were just swimming.”

“N-no, turn around!” you commanded. Sidon didn’t really understand why, but did so anyway because of how agitated you were. You hastily got out of the water to put your underwear back on.

“Why’d you do that?!” Your cheeks were red all around by now.

“I-I apologize, I just meant to make you jump a little bit as a joke, if I had known that I’d scare you this much I wouldn’t have-”

“C-couldn’t you see that I was naked?” You threw your still wet dress on and it clung uncomfortably to your body.

“Yes, I did. A-and I understand Hylian social norms, but I thought that wouldn’t really be an issue with our current relationship. I’m sorry; I overstepped my boundaries. We aren’t as close as I thought we were.”

You stopped dead in your tracks. “I beg your pardon?”

Sidon still had his back turned to you, but from his sagged shoulders you could see that he was very sad. He thought you were… a couple?

“When did I ever give you that impression?” You asked while scanning over your memories to look for anything that might have indicated such interest, from either him or yourself.

“I thought you enjoyed hanging out with me, I mean I swam with Link all the time and he-”

“Wait wait wait-” You cut him off, now completely confused. “Turn around.” Sidon did what he was told and once he did the guilt on his features was even more so apparent.

“What are we?”

“I’m Zora and you are-”

“No, no, that’s not what I mean.” You groaned in frustration. “What would you say our relationship is?”

“W-we’re friends, right?” Sidon asked hopefully. You sighed again, but this time it was in relief.

“Then you _don’t_ understand Hylian social norms at all,” You said with a nervous laugh. You sat down on the rock.

“What?” Sidon’s face perked up from the water. You motioned for him to sit down on the rock besides you. “So you’re not angry with me?” He asked cautiously before complying. You shook your head and he swam towards you. 

“I’m a little pissed, but I can’t blame you for something you don’t know.” You patted him on the shoulder, which made him visibly more relaxed. “Okay, so explain to me your understanding of Hylian social norms when it comes to this?” You were a bit embarrassed to explain this to him, but it was worth it if it meant avoiding such situations in the future.

“Oh okay.” His face turned happy with nostalgia. “A while ago- well I guess it was before you were born, so about 20 years or so, I used to swim a lot with a good friend of mine. He explained to me that Hylians don’t like being naked around strangers, but that it's alright with friends, particularly when swimming.”

“So you based your entire knowledge of Hylians on this one experience?” You asked with a small laugh.

“I- Well, I guess so,” He admitted, realizing his mistake. He fidgeted with the fins sticking out on his crest. “I guess that’s a bad thing to do, isn’t it?”

You laughed. “Yes, yes it is.”

“I’m sorry,” Sidon said, but his face quickly became filled with curiosity. “So, can I take it he is the exception, or is it the other way around?”

Your face turned red again and you turned it away from Sidon. “I-it’s a little bit more complicated than that.”

“How so?” he persisted. The way you acted only made him more curious, leaving you no opportunity to drop the subject.

“Eh, well-” You thought about a way to introduce the concept without having to go _‘when two people love each other very very much-’_ “Y-you went swimming with m- with the Kind of Hyrule right? The Hero?”

Sidon’s face lit up. “Yes, indeed! He is a very dear friend of mine. We don’t see each other that often anymore, however. After becoming King he has become very busy.”

“I see-” You started fidgeting with your dress. Geez, you really needed to get over yourself. Why were you hopping around the subject so childishly? “But he was a guy, right? And he had queen Zelda?”

“Your point being?”

“B-because- Men and women generally don’t get naked around each other.” You were still avoiding eye contact. With this you were basically admitting how embarrassing the whole ordeal just now had been for you

“Why not?” Sidon asked while trying to make eye contact. You were acting really weird about this and he was not having it.

“Well- generally- taking of clothes is a sign that you’d like to initiate sex.” You explained poorly.

You quickly glanced up at Sidon’s face to see that his eyes were wide and that his cheeks were slightly tinted. “Wh- Just like that?”

“Yes? I mean, obviously not all the time and you’d generally be kissing and touching first- but the point is women don’t go naked in front of their male friends.”

“But- We’re different species?” Sidon said confused, as if that fact should make it okay. Your face flared up again.

“That’s besides the point!” You said. “Y-you’re my friend and I don’t treat you any different then I would any Hylian. It’s still embarrassing...” Sidon smiled at this and patted your head.

“Does that mean you think I’m attractive?” He teased. He held up his arms in defense when you turned to him in anger. “Sorry, sorry! I’m just teasing you!” He laughed as you punched his arms.

“For the record, I think you are an exceptionally pretty Hylian.” He gave you his signature smile, which tempted you to punch him again.

“If you put it that way then I guess that you’re not that bad looking either,” You admitted, which made him giggle like a fucking idiot.

“I’m sorry to put you in such an uncomfortable position, ____. I tell you what, if there’s anything you want to know about Zora mating, then you can ask me. That way we’re even!”

You found yourself glancing down at his pelvis, which really made you wonder entirely different things, but decided to go with this question regardless: “How do Zora show interest anyway?” 

“We bite each other.” He said, way more mature than you had been. 

You looked up at his sharp teeth in surprise. “Doesn’t that hurt?”

Now it was Sidon’s turn to get embarrassed. “I think it would be pleasant, but to be honest, I wouldn’t really know.”

“O-oh sorry.”

“Don’t be.” Sidon sighed. There was a bit of an awkward silence between you two. “It isn’t like there was nobody I was interested in. I just never had the courage to overstep my title. Sometimes people expect so much of me. Choosing the perfect partner is part of that.”

You wanted to say something but swallowed the words.

“Besides, I wouldn’t want to fool around with many girls like that.” He said romantically. “Mating should be with a special someone, shouldn’t it?” You nodded in return. Whoever was going to marry this hopeless romantic sure was going to be the happiest girl in the world.

“What about you?” Sidon asked. “Is there any Hylian that has stolen your heart?” He never asked any personal questions, since he knew you wouldn’t want to answer anyway, but he knew that this time was different

“hmmm,” You thought about whether you should answer this question, but then shook your head. “No boys allowed. My parents-”

“Of course it’s your parents,” Sidons face was twisted in annoyance. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean it like that. I just wish you the things I can’t have.”

Your cheeks felt hot again at this affectionate statement. “It’s okay. I’ll find somebody someday.”

“I hope you do,” Sidon said. “In the meantime, I have to apologize for taking away the pleasure of being the first man to see you naked like this. Or that’s how I expect it to work anyway.”

You laughed. “You’re not far off.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! thanks for reading! Please give kudos or comment, it really motivates me to write!


	4. Friendship requirements

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BOOM new chapter! This one is a bit longer, so I hope it was worth the wait. I felt a bit unsure about the way I characterised Sidon in the past chapters so I'm hoping to make it more in character in the rest of the story.

“its just getting hotter every day, isn’t it?”

You hummed in agreement, fanning yourself on a blanket on your rock. You couldn’t sit directly on the rock; otherwise your skirt would melt to your skin. In contrast, Sidon was floating on his back from one side of the riverbank to the other. “As a Zora, I can’t say I’m really happy about it.” He wall-kicked the far end of the riverbank and came floating towards you again.

You chuckled. “Yes, this must be awful for you. Though the thing I can’t understand is how animals with fur or animals like birds live through this heat.”

Sidon suddenly shot right up from the water right in front of your face, letting a wave of water hit you.

“O-oh, Hylia-” You stood up in shock, completely drenched. There didn’t seem to be a way to avoid getting soaked with water when hanging out with the Zora.

“Oh dear, I’m sorry…”

You sighed, knowing that he hadn’t intended to do that. Sometimes you’d forget how monstrously big he was. What did tick you off a little bit, however, is that he was using this as an opportunity. 

“Now that you’re wet anyway,” He said happily. “You can join me for a swim.”

“My prince, I’d honestly love to, believe me, but it would be extremely uncomfortable and impractical to swim around in this attire.” You swished your skirt around in demonstration, thankful that the heat would quickly dry you up again.

“Oh, then there is no problem then,” Sidon leaned over you and then picked you up, which scared the living shit out of you.

“Your Highness?!” You didn’t know if you were questioning what he was doing or an objecting to it. He took you back into the water and placed you to sit right on his back. You struggled for a bit and then grabbed his shoulder pads for supports, at which he laughed heartily.

“See? Now it’s no problem!” He seemed extremely satisfied with himself as he peddled lazy circles. “Don’t worry, Hylian’s aren’t that heavy for me.”

“If you insist,” You huffed.

“Oh, I very much do,” You could catch his bright smile as he turned his head a little. You averted your eyes to his back. This definitely confronted you with how much bigger Sidon was than you, but you also noticed how many tiny scars he had. You traced them along his broad muscular back and sneakily admitted to yourself that you weren’t all that upset about where you were sitting. 

You had never thought too much about the differences between you and Sidon, since you convinced yourself that they didn’t matter. You were friends and friends don’t judge each other on outer appearance. Yet ever since your conversation last time, you had become hyper-aware of the differences between you two. Something you had suddenly realized (and something you just couldn’t stop thinking about) was how masculine Sidon was. You wondered if all Zora were like him.

“Why’d you jump up like that all of the sudden anyway?” you asked him to distract yourself with hot cheeks. You were glad that it was hot, because you could just pass it off as something the weather caused. It was like hiding your tears in the rain.

“Oh!” Sidon said with surprise as he had forgotten it himself. “Birds!”

“Birds?” You snorted and leaned over to give his forehead a feel. “You were scared by a bird? Are you sure the heat isn’t getting to you?”

Sidon shook your hands off and you sat back up. “No, of course not,” He said with pride. “You’d have to come up with a properly sized monster to scare me. N-not that I’m scared of any monsters, that is…” You laughed again.

Sidon cleared his throat and turned around in the water so that you were now sitting on his stomach, giving you a close-up experience of his chest muscles as well. “It just made me remember something when you mentioned it.” He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again in hesitation

“Well, what is it?” You raised an eyebrow in suspicion.

“I got your letter,” He put his hand on your arm. You didn’t like the way he was acting you casually retracted it.

“Really? Well that sure took a long time then,” You were actually surprised. It had been a few weeks since you send it.

Sidon averted his eyes. “To be fair it actually arrived a while ago. I just hadn’t found the time to tell you yet, because last time… You know,”

“Oh…. Yes.” You were trying to forget about that embarrassing encounter without much success. The letter, however, you had actually forgotten about. “I’m glad you got the letter then. It had already escaped my mind if I’m completely honest.”

“Oh.. Ok.” Sidon sounded a bit disappointed. “I thoroughly enjoyed it.”

This made you smile. “I’m glad to know that. You could’ve just written me back, the bird knows where I live.” You remembered the bird coming back without a response and being mildly disappointed. You thought maybe the animal had lost its response. It probably was for the best, because your parents would’ve definitively demanded to read it as soon as they knew you had gotten a letter. Particularly your mother.

“I realize that,” Sidon kicked you two forward a few times out of nervousness, almost causing you to lose your balance. “But I wanted to talk about it in person.”

You nodded, wanting him to continue. Now you definitely were suspicious about the way he was acting. You didn’t remember what you put it the letter, since it was already so long ago. You did remember that you had decided to write it after feeling a bit lonely, so in it you were probably thanking him for being there for you. A bit more sentimental then you normally would’ve liked.

“We’re friends, wouldn’t you say so?” Sidon asked with worry on his face.

“Yes, I would. Why are you asking?” Was that what he was worrying about?

“Best friends?”

“Out of all of the friends I have I would say we’re the closest.” You were getting a bit annoyed by now. What was he getting at?

“You’re my closest friend as well. I can drop the formalities when I’m with you. You allow me to ask you things I normally couldn’t ask people.” Sidon sought eye contact with you. His eyes had the usual confident and stable look to it, but this time he looked a lot more serious. He swam towards the riverbank, the water rippling around his face as he spoke. “I know that as a prince I should extend you the same courtesy as I do with everybody else. I apologize if some of my insecurities leaked through, I never minded myself since I feel as if I don’t have a title when we’re at this riverbank.” He emphasized his point by picking you up and putting you down on the land, your legs still dangling in the water. 

He didn’t move back into the water, instead he closed you in. He wasn’t to claustrophobically close, but he still didn’t leave you room to escape. You could smell a very distinctive smell coming from him, aquatic, but it definitely wasn’t just the river. It smelled nice

“My prince, I consider it an honor to be of help to you.” You replied with sincerity. “Feel free to let some of those etiquettes go, if that is what is troubling you.”

Sidon nodded. “I am very thankful for that. Your letter made me realize how important our friendship is to me.” You smiled at him, but the serious look in his eyes still didn’t falter, making you worry that this wasn’t the end of the conversation.

“Since it’s alright for me to drop the formalities, I was hoping it was okay for you to do so as well.” Sidon quickly looked sideways, as if he was nervous to ask. “Could you just refer to me by my name?”

There it was. The line you didn’t want to cross. Being friends with Sidon was great, but you didn’t want him to become too big a part of your life. It would make everything just so much more complicated. You knew that this wouldn’t stop at a change of title.

“O-oh, I’d feel rude.” You twiddled your thumbs. This made Sidon frowned and he backed up a bit. This was not the reaction he was hoping for.

“You don’t need to, I’m asking you after all.” He said with a nervous laugh. “Don’t you think we’ve been friends long enough to get to know each other a little bit better?” 

See there it was; this was a way for Sidon to try and get to know you better. It wasn’t like you were a complete closed door to him, but you wouldn’t ever tell him where you lived, what you did on a day to day basis and other personal stuff like that. You’d often tell him how protective your parents were, but that was only because you needed to get that stuff off of your chest. Even that was already a bit too much for your liking. Sidon had long ago given up the fight to reveal your secrets, but it seemed as if that fire had been enlightened once again.

“You know I- I get where you are coming from, but isn’t it fine like this?” you tried hopefully, suppressing the anxiety in your chest.

“No,” Sidon said resolutely. “Why can’t you be more open with me?”

“Well, you’ve got no right to know!” You tried to be just as firm back. Sidon could be really scary when he got angry and although he wasn’t quite angry yet, you really didn’t want him to be. “I don’t think I’m being the unreasonable one here.”

“Oh, so you are saying that it’s _me_ is being unreasonable!” He was in complete disbelief. He threw up his arms in disbelief. He wasn’t trying to start a fight with you, but he didn’t want to be a doormat either.

“Yes! Can’t you just leave me to my own life? I like the way our friendship is right now! Why do you want to ruin that?!” You scrambled to get up, trying to match Sidon’s crazy height even as he was half submerged into the river.

“Me trying to get to know you better is ‘ruining our friendship’? Can we even call it a friendship then? Friends tell each other-”

“Why the hell would you know what friendship is?” This shut him up. “If you really don’t appreciate our friendship the way it is I think it would be better for me to just leave…”

“No, ___, wait-” You shook your head and resolutely turned around. 

Without looking back you returned to the castle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ANGSTT, srry about the bit of angst....
> 
> More importantly, my little plot twist is already revealing itself! Please leave a guess if you think you know what the reader is refusing to tell Sidon! I'm curious if it is as obvious as I think it is haha :') It's not supposed to be a super plot twist or anything, but I thought it'd be more interesting this way instead of just revealing it outright.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed! I'd very much like some concrit, so if you have some, please don't hesitate to leave a comment!

**Author's Note:**

> I have a lot of nightmares and this night I had a really bad one. Originally I didn't intend it to end with a hug, because I didn't want to portray the characters as that close yet, but I needed some comforting.


End file.
